BONITA SPRINGS - An outside investor is waiting in the wings with an offer to buy the Bonita Bay Club.

But the commercial Realtor who represents the buyer said the offer isn't being considered by the club's owner and developer, Bonita Bay Group.

Members already have signed an agreement to purchase the golf club in Bonita Springs, but it's not a done deal.

"We couldn't figure out why no one wanted to speak to us about this earlier this week," said Kathy Bissell, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial in Jacksonville, who is working with the buyer.

She wouldn't disclose the buyer's name, saying he wants to remain anonymous – at least for now. She said he's been looking to buy a golf club for months.

Working with the developer, a Turnover Committee for the Bonita Bay community negotiated the deal for members to purchase their club. A definitive agreement was signed in February with the developer, but it requires approval from a majority of members.

The sale would include 90 holes of championship golf at five courses, two clubhouses, three practice ranges, 18 tennis courts, and swim and fitness centers.

For the deal to go through, at least 85 percent of the current golf members have to agree to join the new club. That hurdle has been overcome.

But the developer also demanded that its liability for member deposits be reduced to no more than $7 million. That hasn't happened yet.

In late 2008, the cash-strapped developer stopped honoring its policy of refunding deposits to resigning members of its clubs. Since then, a flurry of lawsuits have been filed by members wanting their money back.

In a letter Thursday, Bonita Bay's Turnover Committee reported to members that the minimum number of golf sign-ups for the new club – 1,051 – had been surpassed, but that more members had to agree to give up part of their deposit to reduce the developer's liability.

"We have reached an agreement with the Bonita Bay Club Turnover Committee for the members to purchase the club assets. That agreement is being strongly supported by the members and we are committed to moving forward with the turnover of the club to the membership," said Brian Lucas, vice chairman of Bonita Bay Group, in a statement.

Attempts to reach members of the Turnover Committee on Friday weren't successful.

The outside buyer is offering to pay more for the club than the members are and members who resigned would have the opportunity to get a full refund of their deposit, said Bissell, who specializes in golf course sales.

Under the agreement between members and the developer, the members have been asked to either accept a 30 percent refund of their deposit from the developer or a partial refund of $55,000 from the new club as money becomes available.

"What's more fair than refunding the fees, if they need them to be refunded?" Bissell asked.

Members have agreed to pay $11.5 million for their club.

With the buyer's offer, club members wouldn't pay anything extra and their dues would remain about the same, Bissell said.

"He (the buyer) also indicated he would provide them with 5 percent of ownership and a committee, where they could participate and have their voice heard," Bissell said.

She said most club members seem to be unaware of the offer.

"We were told we couldn't speak to the Turnover Committee," Bissell said.

She said the buyer has been interested in purchasing the club since September.

"As you know, financing has been difficult for everyone," she said. "It just took this long to find a group that would finance the deal."

In a fight to avoid bankruptcy, Bonita Bay Group has looked to sell off its golf and other recreational clubs to cut costs and pay off its lenders. So far, it has sold off clubs in Mediterra and The Brooks to their members.

The developer owes about $70 million to its lenders, led by Key Bank. It continues to operate the golf clubs at Verandah in Fort Myers and at TwinEagles in North Naples.